Brazil is sometimes known for being a laid-back country with much more laid-back and open people compared to a place like the United States. For my last cultural post I tried learning more about Brazilian culture and how they live their day to day lives. Interestingly enough, I found out that Brazilians have a term that can be used to describe their cultural tendencies and behavior. Brazilians call it “O Jeitinho Brasileiro” which can translate to “The Brazilian Way of Living”. Reading Brazilian blogs about the topic, others described it as finding creative or kind solutions to solve everyday problems that arise. This description has led to Brazilians being thought of as some of the happiest people, who are always carefree, welcoming, and thoroughly enjoying themselves.
While this “Brazilian Way” can certainly be positive, it also comes with a few negative aspects. For one, when I asked my Brazilian language partner to state what “O Jeitinho Brasileiro” means to her, she said “Well I grew up hearing it was always something bad, but then I realized that for rich people it can be more about trickery, corruption and deception, but for the poor it can be about enjoying life and figuring out a way to get by when a problem arises”. This comment was super interesting because it brings the topic of class and wealth to the forefront while recognizing the “Brazilian Way” has both positive and negative connotations and implications for the real world.
With regard to negative connotations, I found that the “Brazilian Way” was associated with corruption, lack of education, and lack of civility. The image below highlights an example of this negative Brazilian lifestyle, where one coworker asks another colleague if he is going to participate in the movement against corruption and the colleague’s response is “How much money am I going to earn?”. A more practical example that I read about would be an individual cutting others in a large line at a bank because he is only going to ask a quick question, while the correct thing to do would be to wait in line just like everyone else. However, through “o jeitinho brasileiro” he found a quick way to avoid waiting in line at the disdain of others waiting in line.
At the same time, a lot of what I read about the “Brazilian Way” was largely positive and is considered to be one of the best characteristics that Brazilians have. The people of Brazil are often well known for being cheerful and relaxed even in the most stressful situations. In terms of positive connotations, the “Brazilian Way” is associated with a light, creative, flexible and optimistic way of leading life and solving situations.
I enjoyed being able to learn a little more about this cultural aspect of Brazil while being able to have my language partner as someone to almost verify the information I was reading and learning about. It certainly appears that Brazilians appreciate their more casual and laid-back approach to life. I also believe it can sometimes be the opposite of an American lifestyle that emphasizes a fast-paced work/life environment with very little time to relax or deal with problems and stressful situations in a lighthearted manner.
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